Abdominal massaging machine



Aug. 2, 1955 Filed Nov. 4, 1952 B. L. CORLEY EVAL ABDOMINAL MASSAGING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Allg' 2, 1955 B. L.. coRLEY ET AL 2,714,381

ABDOMINAL MASSAGING MACHINE Filed NOV. 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Buesu L, Coney BERT T. /A/SLEV BY @ZKM/mr ,6%

United States Patent hice ABDCMINAL PJIASSAGING MACHINE Buren L. Corley and` Bert T. Insley, San Francisco, Calif.; said Insley assigner to said Corley Application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,7 06

12 Claims. (Cl. 128-61 be extremely beneficial in stimulating the action of the colon in persons who are troubled with constipation. Not only does such massaging tend to correct a constipated condition if properly carried out, but periodical massaging tends to prevent such a condition from arising.

Furthermore, massaging of the abdomen, if properly carried out, relieves gas, bloat of the stomach, intestines and colon. In the case of persons having an excessively fatty abdomen, massaging will, in addition, reduce such fat and at the same time tone and strengthen a prolapsed, dropped, sagging stomach, intestines and colon.

In the case of abdominal muscles weakened by childbirth, proper massaging promotes a strengthening and toning of such muscles.

`Such massaging, when performed to stimulate action of the colon, preferably consists in applying pressure at points on the abdomen corresponding to the path of the colon and in a direction from the ascending colon along the transverse colon and toward and along the descending colon.

If properly carried out, the manual massaging procedure is a time consuming one and extremely tiring to the massager. Needless to say the number of persons on whom the operation may be performed each day is limited by the endurance of the massager and the time he has available.

It is therefore the main object of this invention to provide a machine which will perform the massaging operation above described mechanically, and with greater eicacy than when done manually.

Another important consideration involved in this type of massaging is that different people react in different ways and some cannot withstand the application of such pressure. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a massaging machine having adjustable means thereon for applying different degrees of pressure to the abdomen as desired.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a massaging machine including means for indicating the degree of pressure applied to the body so that the adjustment of the machine may be repeated as desired for successive treatments of the same person.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a massaging machine of the nature described which may be operated without any intervention by the patient. The importance of this object lies in the fact that any attempt to carry out a massaging operation of any type which requires manual manipulation by the patient himself defeats the purpose of the device in that the patient is not permitted the muscular relaxation essential to obtaining beneficial results from massage.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and from the drawings.

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Fig. l is a side elevational view of the machine partly broken away and in section to show internal structure.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the machine with the top portion thereof partly broken away and in section to show internal structure.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View through the arm of the machine as taken along lines 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional View through the free end of the arm and indicating by dotted lines a position of the massaging member opposite to that shown in full lines.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through the free end of the arm as taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic top plan view of the abdomen of a person showing the position of the colon and indieating by arrows the direction in which the same is massaged.

In detail, and with reference to Figs. 1 2, the assembled apparatus comprises a generally rectangular base 1 which is adapted to be placed on a bed or massaging table. The base 1 is preferably relatively thin so that the patient may lie downon the bed or table with the lower portion of his back on said base and with his abdomen directed upwardly.

At one end of the base 1 is a pair of vertically extending spaced hollow posts 2, 3 respectively. These posts 2, 3 are spaced apart in a direction longitudinally of the body of the person and are each provided at their upper ends with a transverse portion 4 (Fig. l) which is centrally apertured for threadedly receiving a vertically extending stud 5 therethrough.

The upper end of stud S is provided with a rigid: cap 6 which is formed with an integral downwardly extending flange 7 around its periphery.

Telescopically received around the upper ends of posts 2, 3 are tubular members l@ each of which is substantially the same length as the posts 2, 3 and closed at its upper end by top portion 11 which is centrally apertured to receive therethrough the upper end of stud 5. A collar, or thrust bearing 12, is lixedly secured to stud 5 at a point spaced from the upper end of the latter'. Thus, as best seen in Fig. l, the top 11 of each tubular member 10, is retained between the collar 12 on stud 5 and the cap 6 which is rigid with said stud.

By rotating the caps 6 it willbe apparent from Fig. l that the tubular members 10 may be raised or lowered as desired. It will further be seen that said tubular members 10 will be securely held against deflection by posts 2, 3 at all times.

Intermediate the ends of members 10 the same is formed with a longitudinally extending relatively narrow slot 13 on the side of said members facing the central body receiving portion of base 1.

On opposite sides of slot 13 each tubular member 10 is formed with laterally outwardly projecting lugs 14, 15. The inner lug 15 is apertured and internally threaded to threadedly receive therein the shank of a bolt 16. The cuter lug 14 is apertured to loosely receive therethrough the shank of bolt 16, the latter being provided with an enlarged head 17 adapted to be actuated by the fingers of' the operator. By turning the heads 17 of bolts 16 it will be apparent that the tubular members lll may be clamped to posts 2 or 3 as desired, the sidewalls of said members being tightly engageable with said posts because of the presence of slots 13. By loosening bolts 16, the tubular members 10 may be shifted along the length of posts 2, 3 as desired.

The Shanks of bolts 16 are provided with oppositely inwardly directed extensions 20 (Fig. 2) which are adapted to pivotally receive oppositely outwardly projecting bosses 21 on an elongated hollow arm 22. Bosses 21 are provided with oppositely outwardly opening recesses 23 for so receiving said extensions.

.Arm 22 is provided at one end with a substantially rectangular portion which receives therein an electric motor 26 to which is connected a power lead 27 for connectiOn to a suitable source of power.

Between the portion of arm 22 that is pivoted to bolts 16, and the opposite end of said arm the same is tapered as clearly shown in Figs. l, 2, 4 and 5. This results in reduction of the weight and also the size of that portion of the arm 22 which is adapted to be positioned over the body of the person. For this reason the portion 25 of the arm which contains motor 26 is somewhat shorter than the remainder of the arm. In addition, motor 26 is relatively heavy so that the pivot points of arm 22, that is, bosses 21, when placed as shown cause the arm 22 to be substantially balanced on bolts 16.

The head end 24 of arm 22, that is, the end opposite motor 26, is provided with a downwardly opening hole 30 for receiving therethrough a closed housing 31, the lat- A ter being provided with a peripheral flange 32 along its lower side for securing said housing 31 within said arm by cap screws 33 (Fig. 4). The top and bottom sides of housing 31 are provided with bearing portions 34, 35 respectively for rotatably receiving a vertically extending shaft 36 adjacent the opposite ends of the latter.

Rigidly secured to shaft 36 is a worm wheel 44) which is provided with a relatively long hub 41 extending between the top and bottom of housing 31 for retaining the shaft 36 in place. Worm wheel 40 is in mesh with a worm 42 carried by one end of the motor shaft 43 of motor 26. Motor shaft 43 may be rotatably supported in the opposite lateral sides of housing 31 (Fig. 5).

Referring again to shaft 36, the same is formed at its lower end with a tubular enlargement 45 which includes downwardly extending sidewalls 46 (Fig. 4). Partially received within the tubular enlargement 45 is an element 47 which is provided with a horizontal pvot 48 for pivotally securing said element to sidewalls 46 at a point offset from the longitudinal axis of shaft 36. Element 47 is also formed with a generally horizontally extending lip 50 at the side of said element opposite pivot 48@ This lip 50 is adapted to engage the upper end of a vertically disposed compression spring 51 which is supported on a horizontally extending flange 52 rigid with sidewalls 46.

The upper side of element 47 is provided with an upwardly opening depression 54 which is adapted to receive the lower end of an elongated pin 55 extending vertically through an axially extending bore 56 in shaft 36. The upper end of pin 55 is received within a downwardly opening socket 57 in shank 58 of a bolt 59 and abuts against a ball bearing 60 so as to reduce friction upon rotation of pin 55.

Bolt 59 is provided with a head 61 including a skirt portion 62 which may be formed of light sheet metal and bent to provide a horizontally disposed flange 63. It will be apparent upon rotation of head 61 the pin 55 will be moved downwardly or upwardly as desired so as to swing element 47 to different degrees of inclination.

Flange 63 is preferably calibrated in any suitable units to prove a scale 65 and a pointer 64 may be rigidly carried on the upper side of arm 22 for registering with said calibrations.

Element 47 is formed to providea generally downwardly extending journal portion which is adapted to be press-fitted within the inner race 71 of a conventional combination radial andrthrust ball bearing generally designated 72. Element 47 is also provided with a down-V wardly facing shoulder 73 which is adaptedto abut said inner race.

Rigidly secured to the outer race 75 of ball bearing 72 is a generally circular plate 76 preferably of steel or other rigid material. This plate 76 is slightly dished with its concavity opening downwardly as best seen in Fig. 4. The central portion of plate 76 which is secured to bear- 77C, and 77D are indicated and these are spaced apart :E i lution of said shaft.

so that knob 77A engages the abdomen adjacent the start of the ascending colon E. Knob 77B is positioned about centrally of the ascending colon, knob 77D centrally of the transverse colon F and knob 77C about centrally of f the descending colon.

With element 47 in the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 4 and upon rotation of shaft 36 it will be apparent that plate 76 will tend to revolve about the axis of shaft 36. However, inasmuch as knobs 77 are in engagement with the abdomen of the patient thus preventing such revolution, the inner race of ball bearing 72 will rotate relative to the outer race. In the event that the engagement of knobs 77 with the body of the person is not sufficient to prevent rotation of plate 76, an anti-turn linkage such as indicated generally at 80 maybe connected between bearing 7.2 and arm 22.

Upon rotation of shaft 36 it will be apparent that element 47 will revolve about the axis of shaft 36 and at the same time will rotate one revolution for each revo- Inasmuch as the axis of journal 70 of element 47 is inclined relative to the vertically extending axis of shaft 36, it is obvious that plate 76 will remain tilted at all times so that after a one-half revolution from the full line position of Fig. 4, the plate 76 will be in the dotted line position of Fig. 4.

In Fig. 5, the portion of plate 76 adjacent knob 77C is indicated by dot-dash lines in its position when shaft 36 has rotated one quarter of a revolution. It should be noted that knob 77C from the full line position of Fig. 4 moves in an oblique path which is generally downwardly and clockwise (Fig. 5).

The resultant wobbling motion of plate 76 is somewhat similar to that of the upper surface of a rotating top when the axis of the latter becomes inclined to the vertical.

Considering the motion of only one knob on plate 76, such knob 77C7(Figs. 4, 5), it will be seen that said knob not only moves generally radially inwardly, but also moves slightly clockwise (Fig. 5) (assuming the direction of shaft 36 to be as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5).

The above described motion insofar as knob 77C is concerned results in a generally downwardly directed force being exerted on the descending colon G (Fig. 6) which is obliquely directed in the direction of the natural movement of the contents of said colon.

Inasmuch as the other knobs have an analogous movement, the result is the intermittent application of obliquely directed pressures at spaced points along the length of the colon.

The actual movement of plate 76 may be delined as a combination of revolution about the axis of shaft 36 and a wobbling motion resulting from the constant tilting of the plate during said revolution.

As stated above, the axial movement of pin 55 obtained by turning bolt 59, permits adjustment of the degree of inclination of element 47.

Upon moving pin 55 upwardly, it is seen from Fig. 4 that spring 51 will urge element 47 toward a position in which the axis of journal 70 is parallel to the vertically extending axis of shaft 36. ln this last mentioned position, the plate 76 will be horizontal so that no tilting or wobbling motion results upon rotation of shaft 36. In such a case, the movement of plate 76 will be that of pure revolution about the axis of shaft 36 and the only downwardly directed pressure applied to the body will be that which is uniformly applied at all times by arm 22. The method lof applying such pressure by arm 22 will subsequently be described, but for the present it is only necessary to note that the actual pressure applied may be varied as desired by tilting element 47 so that the axis of journal 70 makes different angles with the axis of shaft 36. The greater the angle, the greater the pressure because the greater the tilting of plate 76.

, It is important to note also that by increasing the angle between journal 70 and shaft 36 not only is the radius of revolution of plate 7-6 increased but also the amount of wobble.

Inasmuch as both the radius of revolution and the degree of wobble contribute to the pressure applied to the body, only a slight change in the angle of tilt of element 47 will produce an appreciable change in the massaging pressure. In this respect, the adjusting device which includes pin 55 and bolt 59 is extremely eiiicient. A boot 78 of exible material such as rubber or the like may be provided between arm 22 and plate 76 to protect the tilting mechanism.

From the standpoint of the actual effect on the body, it will be understood that a change in the radius of revolution of plate 76 alone, unaccompanied by a change in the angle of tilt of plate 76, would not have as desirable an eifect as providing an increase in the pressure along with the change in the radius of revolution. However, it should be noted that the device may be employed with the plate 76 substantially horizontal at all times by disposing element 47 with the axis of journal 70 parallel to the axis of shaft 36. In such a case, the pressure exerted by the knobs 77 on the bodymay be regulated by adjusting the downward pressure of arm 22 in a manner which will subsequently be described.

To improve the facility with which the device may be used, it is desirable to be able to swing the arm 22 upwardly at its free end clear of the body of the patient.

To this end, we provide a latch member generally designated 81 extending transversely across the hollow arm 22 at a point substantially spaced above the pivot bolts 16. This latch member 81 is provided at one end with an extension 82 of reduced cross-section, and which extension extends through an elongated slot 83 in the adjacent side wall of arm 22. A stop element S4 is integrally formed in the adjacent tubular member 1) so as to be engaged by said extension to prevent counterclockwise rotation of arm 22 (Fig. l) when said extension is in the position of lEigs. 1-3.

The opposite end of latch member 81 is reduced as at 8S to be loosely received in an inwardly opening recess 86 formed in the adjacent sidewall of arm 22. As best seen in Fig. 3, upon movement of latch member 81 to` the right, the same will be disengaged from stop element 84 thus permitting upward swinging of the free, end of arm 22 that is positioned over the patient.

.For the. purpose of actuating latch member 81 as above described,y we provide an elongated rod 9i) extending from said latch member 81 longitudinally of arm 22 and out of the free end of arm 22 (Fig. 2). Said rod is rotatably supported in the head of arm 22 and extends therethrough and is provided with a knob 91 for turning the same. Rod 90 is formed with a crank portion )2` at its end adjacent latch member 81 and said crank portion is pivotally received in said member so that upon clockwise rotation of rod 90 (Fig. 3) the latch member 81` may be swung to the right (Fig. 3) out of engagement of stop element 84. When in this latter position, it will be apparent that the arm 22 may be swung counterclockwise as seen in Fig. l to the dotted line position to permit the patient unobstructed access to the base 1.

When the patient is lying down with his back on the base 1 the arm 22 may be swung downwardly so that the abdomen is engaged by knobs 77 as above described. By turning knob 91 to cause latch 81 to engage stop element tio' 84, upward swinging of the arm 22 is prevented. Knobs 77 need not be of the same size but4 are preferably of dierent sizes to suit the contour of the body.

As stated above, it is desirable that the arm 22 be urged downwardly so that varying degrees of pressure may be applied through knobs 77 to the abdomen of the patient.

To this end, we provide, in arm 22, an elongated horizontally extending helical compression spring 94 which is mounted at one end in a socket 9S secured to a latch member 8i (Fig. 2). The opposite end of spring 94 is fastened to a travelling nut 96 which, in turn, is threadedly carried on an elongated shaft 97. Shaft 9"/ extends horizontally through the head of arm22 and is provided with a knob 98 for turning the same. Adjacent the head of arm 22, shaft 97 is provided with a rigid collar or thrust bearing 99. As best seen in Fig. 2 shaft 97 is long enough to extend within a major portion of spring 94 and thus acts as a retainer for the latter. A pointer 106, rigid with travelling nut 96, extends upwardly through a longitudinally extending slot 101 in the upper side of arm 22 so as to indicate the degree of compression of spring 94. A calibrated scale 102 may be formed on the upper side ot' arm 22 for indicating in any desired units the degree of compression of spring 94.

Travelling nut 9-5 is positioned alongside a sidewall of arm 22 to prevent said nut from turning and slot ll in the upper sidewall of arm 22 performs this same function.

)'iy the above described structure, it is seen that rotation ot' knob 98 permits compression or extension of spring 94. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the compression force of the spring 94 is exerted at one of its ends on stop through latch member 8i and at its opposite end of the head 24 of arm 22. The effect of this structure is to create a torque yieldably urging the arm 22 in a clockwise direction (Fig. l) about its pivots so that the head end 24 and the knobs '77 are urged downwardly on the patients abdomen. Obviously, if the arm 22 is otherwise balanced on its pivots the downward pressure exerted by arm 22 is directly proportional to the degree of compression in spring 94, which degree is indicated by pointer 108 on scale 192.

As above noted, the slot 83 through which extension S2 of latch member 8l passes, is horizontally elongated so as to permit limited swinging of arm 22 without dis.- engaging the same from stop element S4. Thus the abdomen of the patient is permitted to expand and contract in the usual manner and undue pressure on the body is obviated because arm 22 may be urged upwardly to a limited degree against the yieldable resistance of spring 94.

in operation, and while the arm 22 is swung upwardly to the dotted line position of Fig. l, the patient is first positioned with his back resting on base 1 and with his body extending transversely of the arm 22 so that the arm 22 may be swung downwardly to the position shown in full lines in Figs. l, 2. if desired, any suitable pad may be placed between the patients back and base 1.

Caps 6 on studs 5 may then be turned if necessary to raise or lower the tubular members 10 which carry arm 22 so as to bring the latter to any desired elevation relative tothe patients body.

The extension 82 of latch S1 is formed with a cam portion'k 87 so as to cause said latch to be retracted within the arm 22 when the latter is swung downwardly. However, when arm 22 becomes horizontal the latch will snap out again and engage stop Se. in this connection spring 94 may serve the dual function of urging the arm downwardly at its head and at the same time yieldably urging the latch member 81 toward stop 84.

The next step is to turn knob 98 on shaft 97 to obtain the desired downward pressure on the knobs 77. When the most desirable pressure is` once established for a patient the corresponding calibration on scale 182 can be f noted on the patents records so that the same may readily be duplicated at any time.

The next step in setting up the device is to turn the knob or head 61 on bolt 59 which regulates the degree of tilt until the desired radius of revolution and the degree of wobble of plate 76 is achieved. At this point it is emphasized that the tilting of element 49 relative to the axis of shaft 36 changes both the radius of revolution of said journal 70 and also the degree of wobble which is desirable. Again the particular angle of element 47 best suited for any patient may be recorded and quickly established at any time by virtue of the calibrations on scale 65.

The device may be provided with a conventional timing device (not shown) so that when motor 26 is energized, it will run for a predetermined length of time and then shut off automatically. In this manner, an operator may handle numerous machines at one time and once the machines are set up no further attention is required.

The adjustments hereinbefore disclosed for changing .f

the pressure of knobs 77 and also the wobbling of plate 76 are extremely important inasmuch as they provide a simple means for insuring that the patient obtains the proper degree of massaging without injury.

It will be understood that, although four knobs 77 are shown inthe drawings, more or less may actually be used as long as the same are properly positioned to massage the colon.

The foregoing detailed description of the invention is not to be taken as restrictive of the same, but only as a preferred form thereof. It being obvious, in this connection, that variations in design may be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention.

We claim: k

l. A massaging machine for stimulating action of the colon comprising: a member adapted to engage the abdomen of a person and of suicient size to cover the area of the abdomen including portions of the ascending colon, transverse colon and the descending colon, said member being provided with a plurality of body engaging elements, means operatively connected with said elements for applying pressure through said elements and against said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus and in a direction along said colon from said ascending colon toward said descending colon, means holding said member against rotation for preventing movement of said elements along the length of said locus.

2. A massaging machine for stimulating action of the colon comprising: a member adapted to engage the abdomen of a person and of sufficient size to cover the area of the abdomen including portions of the ascending colon, transverse colon and the descending colon said member being provided with a plurality of body engaging elements, means for tilting said member about a horizontal axis to apply pressure through said elements to said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus roughly corresponding to the path of said colon and in a direction along said transverse colon from said ascending colon toward said descending colon, means holding said members against rotation for preventing movement of said; elements along the length of said locus.

3. A massaging machine for stimulating action of the colon comprising: a member adapted to engage the abdomen of a person and of sufficient size to cover the area of the abdomen including portions of the ascending colon, transverse colon and the descending colon, means for supporting said member for wobbling movement about an` axis at right angles to the body of said person, said means including a shaft coaxial with said axis and an element carried by said shaft and tiltable relative thereto means for rotating said shaft in one direction whereby said member will revolve about said axis at a degree of inclination relative to said axis corresponding to the degree of tilt of said element, a plurality of spaced protuberances on said member adapted to engage said abdomen at different points on the same corresponding to the path of said colon for applying intermittent pressure to the latter at said points.

4. A massaging machine for stimulating action of the colon comprising: a member adapted to engage the abdomen of a person and of sufficient size to cover the area of the abdomen including portions of the ascending colon, transverse colon and the descending colon, means for supporting said member for wobbling movement about an axis at right angles to the body of said person, said means including a shaft coaxial with said axis and an element carried by said shaft and tiltable relative thereto means for rotating said shaft in one direction whereby said member will revolve about said axis at a degree of inclination relative to said axis corresponding to the degree of Vtilt of said element, a plurality of spaced protuberances on said member adapted to engage said abdomen at different points on the same corresponding to the path of said colon for applying intermittent pressure to the iatter at said points, means for adjustably tilting said element to various degrees'of inclination relative to said axis for changing the degree of such wobbling movement and the pressure applied by said protuberances.

5. A massaging machine for stimulating action of the colon comprising: a member adapted to engage the abdomen of a person and of sufficient size to cover the area of the abdomen including portions of the ascending colon, transverse colon and the descending colon, `means for supporting said member for wobbling movement about an axis at right angles to the body of said person, said means including a shaft coaxial with said axis and an element carried by said shaft and tiltable relative thereto means for rotating said shaft in one direction whereby said member will revolve about said axis' at a degree of inclination relative to said axis corresponding to the degree of tilt of said element, a plurality of spaced protuberances on said member adapted to engage said abdomen at different points on the same corresponding to the path of said colon for applying intermittent pressure to the latter at said points, said means for supporting said member being mounted at the free end of an elongated pivotally mounted arm swingable from a position extending transversely of said body from one side thereof and with its free end spaced outwardly of said abdomen to a position with said arm substantiallly at right angles to said body.

6. A massaging machine of the character described comprising an elongated normally horizontally disposed arm having a free end adapted to be positioned over the abdomen of a person when such person is lying horizontally on his back, a generally horizontally disposed member carried by said free end and engageable with said abdomen when the latter is so positioned, said member being of sufficient size to cover the area of the abdomen which includes the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon, means for imparting a wobbling motion to said member about an axis at right angles to said abdomen for applying pressure to the latter at successive points along an arcuate locus and in a direction along said f; colon from said ascending colon toward said descending colon, means spaced from said free end for pivotally supporting said arm to permit swinging the latter to a substantially vertical position whereby said person may be positioned under said arm when the latter is swung downwardly to itsv horizontal position, and means for yieldably applying downward pressure on said free end and through said member to said abdomen when said arm is horizontal.

7. A massaging machine of the character described comprising an elongated normally horizontally disposed arm having a free end adapted to be positioned over the abdomen of a person when such person is lying horizontally on his back, a generally horizontally disposed member carried by said free end and engageable with said abdomen when the latter is so positioned, said member being of suflicient size to cover the area of the abdomen which includes the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon, means for imparting a wobbling motion to said member about an axis at right angles to said abdomen for applying pressure to the latter at successive points along an arcuate locus and in a direction along said colon from said ascending colon toward said descending colon, means spaced from said free end for pivotally supporting said arm to permit swinging the latter to a substantially vertical position whereby said person may be positioned under said arm when the latter is swung downwardly to its horizontal position, and means for yieldably applying downward pressure on said free end and through said member to said abdomen when said arm is horizontal, said last mentioned means comprising a compressible spring in said arm and means for adjusting the compression of said spring for varying said pressure.

8. A massaging machine of the character described comprising an elongated normally horizontally disposed arm having a free end adapted to be positioned over the abdomen of a person when such person is lying horizontally on his back, a generally horizontally disposed member carried by said free end and engageable with said abdomen when the latter is so positioned, said member being of suiicient size to cover the area of the abdomen which includes the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon, means for imparting a wobbling motion to said member about an axis at right angles to said abdomen for applying pressure to the latter at successive points along an arcuate locus and in a direction along said colon from said ascending colon toward said descending colon, means spaced from said free end for pivotally supporting said arm to permit swinging the latter to a substantially vertical position whereby said person may be positioned under said arm when the latter is swung downwardly to its horizontal position, and means for yieldably applying downward pressure on said free end and through said member to said abdomen when said arm is horizontal, means for moving said pivotally supporting means on said arm for adjustably moving said arm toward and away from said abdomen for persons of diiferent sizes.

9. In a massaging machine of the character described: a generally horizontally disposed member adapted to be applied against the abdomen of a person when such person is lying on his back and formed to provide portions engageable with said abdomen at points corresponding to the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon respectively, a generally horizontally extending arm adapted to extend over one side of said person, means for adjustably mounting said arm at one end thereof with the free end of said arm positioned above said person, a vertically extending shaft mounted in said free end and means within said arm for rotating said shaft about a vertical axis in one direction, an element pivotally secured to the lower end of said shaft and rotatably connected with said member for rotation relative to the latter about an axis inclined to the axis of said shaft. whereby said plate will be tilted about a generally cen tral point upon said rotation for applying pressure to said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus corresponding to the path of said colon.

10. In a massaging machine of the character described: a generally horizontally disposed member adapted to be applied against the abdomen of a person when such person is lying on his back and formed to provide portions engageable with said abdomen at points corresponding to the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon respectively, a generally horizontally extending arm adapted to extend over one side of said person, means for adjustably mounting said arm at one end thereof with the free end of said arm positioned above said person, a vertically extending shaft mounted in said fre:

end and means within said arm for rotating said shaft about a vertical axis in one direction, an element pivotally secured to the lower end of said shaft and rotatably connected with said member for rotation relative to the latter about an axis inclined to the axis of said shaft, whereby said plate will be tilted about a generally central point upon said rotation for applying pressure to said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus corresponding to the path of said colon, means extending through said shaft for swinging said element about its pivot to adjustably shift the axis of rotation of said member to different degrees of inclination relative to the axis of said shaft.

1l. In a massaging machine of the character described: a generally horizontally disposed member adapted to be applied against the abdomen of a person when such person is lying on his back and formed to provide portions engageable with said abdomen at points corresponding to the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon respectively, a generally horizontally extending arm adapted to extend over one side of said person, means for adjustably mounting said arm at one end thereof with the free end of said arm positioned above said person, a vertically extending shaft mounted in said free end and means within said arm for rotating said shaft about a vertical axis in one direction, an element pivotally secured to the lower end of said shaft and rotatably connected with said member for rotation relative to the latter about an axis inclined to the axis of said shaft, whereby said plate will be tilted about a generally central point upon said rotation for applying pressure to said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus corresponding to the path of said colon, means extending through said shaft for swinging said element about its pivot to adjustably shift the axis of rotation of said member to different degrees of inclination relative to the axis of said shaft, said element and said shaft being pivotally secured at a point offset from the axis of said shaft whereby said member will revolve about the axis of said shaft upon rotation of the latter.

l2. In a massaging machine of the character described: a generally horizontally disposed member adapted to be applied against the abdomen of a person when such person is lying on his back and formed to provide portions engageable with said abdomen at points corresponding to the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon respectively, a generally horizontally extending arm adapted to extend over one side of said person, means for adjustably mounting said arm at one end thereof with the free end of said arm positioned above said person, a vertically extending shaft mounted in said free end and means within said arm for rotating said shaft about a vertical axis in one direction, an element pivotally secured to the lower end of said shaft and rotatably connected with said member for rotation relative to the latter about an axis inclined to the axis of said shaft, whereby said plate will be tilted about a generally central point upon said rotation for applying pressure to said abdomen at successive points along a generally circular locus corresponding to the path of said colon, means extending through said shaft for swinging said element about its pivot to adjustably shift the axis of rotation of said member to different degrees of inclination relative to the axis of said shaft, said element and said shaft being pivotally secured at a point offset from the axis of said shaft whereby said member will revolve about the axis of said shaft upon rotation of the latter, spring means for applying a downwardly directed yieldable pressure to said free end for urging said member against said abdomen to prevent rotation of said member.

References Cited in the iile of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 629,816 Germany May 13,1936 

